Palm Inc Analysis Essays

Valuation is the estimation of an asset’s value, whether real or financial, based on variables perceived to be related to future investment returns, on comparison with similar assets, or, when relevant, on estimates of immediate liquidation proceeds (Pinto, Henry, Robinson, Stowe; 2010). Correct valuation of real assets can present challenges to financial analysts. Different models can be used to arrive at the closest estimate of value and yet certain issues will always arise. This case attempts to tackle two approaches in real asset valuation: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis and the issues surrounding such, as well as the Black-Scholes Model for Real Options. Questions to be addressed in the study are:

6. What is your appraisal of Blue Nile’s financial performance based on the data in

|P/E |value/EBIT is useful for valuing capital-intensive |will be overstated which lead this method inaccurate.|

Google and Yahoo have a calculation of the P/E but both are different being $12.22 and $11.96 respectively at this current point in time. The main reason for the current difference in P/E is the discrepancy in earnings per share of $.10. To find historical P/E ratios for Target i have to do a google search and it brought up a site call YCharts. For the year of 2016 they do not give you an average but plotting a few point and finding an average I came up with about $12.84 for a ten year chart I would have had to sign up for a free trial but 2016 looked about average compared to pre 2014 when the stock was on a quick rise. Looking at a rough five year average of $17.97 the $11.92 is really low. In other words the current P/E is on the low side which may indicate a time to buy.

Our estimated cost of capital, 20.81%, is lower than Ricketts’ expected return, 30%-50%, thus the investment is worthy. However, it’s higher than other pessimistic members’ expected return, 10%-15%, making the decision more complex and requiring further valuation。

The cost of equity was found using CAPM, with the given market risk premium of 5%, a beta of .88, and risk-free rate of 4.03%. The beta was found by running a regression of Southwest’s percent change in stock price versus the S&P 500’s percent change in stock price for two years (June 28, 2000 to June 28, 2002). The risk-free rate was the return on a ten-year treasury note issued on June 28, 2002, according to the U.S. Treasury’s website. The tax rate of 39% was used to account for tax savings from leverage. In order to calculate the firm’s leverage, the market value of equity was found from the price per share on July 24, 2002 (Yahoo Finance) and the shares outstanding on the balance sheet of the July 10-Q report, as shown in Exhibit X. The debt value was approximated at the book value since data could not be found regarding its market value. This analysis resulted in a debt weight of 11.74% and equity weight of 88.26%. The final approximation for the weighted average cost of capital was 8.64%.

Several internal factors can influence the valuation of a company, however, in the subsequent are some factors that will assist management in protecting its shareholders. The first reason is the desire to generate profits for the company, as a profitable firm will attract investors. Secondly, the need to improve the management of a company can lead to valuation as the information can be used to spur growth. Valuation will assist in understanding some of the factors affecting the value of the company such as client relationships, financials, image, technology employees, and marketing. Proper management is implemented after identifying the issues affecting the organization’s value. Thirdly, communicating to the public accurate and current information is essential in attracting investors and maintaining transparency, which builds the company image.

  As  for  this  case,  we  decided  to  address  the  companies  that  were     2   most  similar  in  size  to  MCC  and  that  were  most  recent  since  the  industry  is  rapidly   evolving,  and  therefore,  valuations  are  also  rapidly  changing.     Discounted  Cash  Flow  Analysis       Finally,

While performing a DCF analysis, a thorough understanding of the business being analyzed is needed to determine the correct assumptions and items used for the analysis. For this reason, Laura believed this was still a good method to value stocks in this industry. This analysis yields a higher company value than current price.

in our calculations, as this company exhibited dramatic value differences to others in the sample, (likely to skew our results and prove misleading). Using the average of the revised sample field for each ratio, we inserted Torrington’s values where appropriate to generate an entity value. The findings generated two values for Torrington, 606 million and 398 million. Taking the average of these two numbers, Torrington exhibited a relative value of 502.41 million. Because of the lack of related information given in the case, and the often large differences in measures amongst competitors, different capital structures, internal management strategies, there remained many unknowns in our model. We decided it would be best to use this valuation to reaffirm our assumptions in our DCF valuation. (Please see exhibits)

Return on Total Assets was 4.43% which is below five percent. That indicates that the company is not accurately converting its assets into profit. The total for Return on Stockholders’ Equity was 8.89%, however financial analysts prefer ROE to range between 15-20 %. The company’s low ROE indicates that the company is not generating profit with new investments. Lastly, Debt-to-Equity ratio for the company was 1.01 which indicates that investors and creditors are equally sharing assets. In the view of creditors, they see a high ratio as a risk factor because it can indicate that investors are not investing due to the company’s overall performance. The totals of these three ratios demonstrate that the company’s financial state is not as healthy as it should be.

It is important for stockholders to continuously re-evaluate their investments. Although some investors do this more frequently and thoroughly than others, the majority of shareholders do so at least once each year. Therefore, Torres’ desire to update her analysis in order to determine whether Costco was still operating efficiently makes perfect sense. After thorough examination, my analysis proves that Costco remains one of the industry’s leading competitors and there seems to be no reason for Torres to sell her shares as long as she wishes to retain holdings of a retail wholesale club in her portfolio.

You would not buy a home, car or other large purchases without researching what product offered you the most for your money. The same is true when investing in a company. Investors do avid research on multiple companies to find what company matches the investors' criteria. In this paper Team C will research both AT&T and Verizon's financial documents. Team C will compare selected ratios, cash flow and make recommendations how both companies can manage cash flow for the future.

The Earnings Per share in 2012 and 2013 were $2.90. This is an indicator that the company is still profitable since the ratio is a constant. The price per earnings in 2012 was 12.5 and 17.7 in 2013. A decrease in the price per share may indicate a vote of no confidence to investors. However, this can be attributed to the industry sector as well the stock.

In particular, small changes in inputs can result in large changes in the value of a company, given the need to project cash-flow to infinity.  James Montier argues that, "while the algebra of DCF is simple, neat and compelling, the implementation becomes a  minefield of problems". He cites, in particular, problems with  estimating cash flows and estimating discount rates. Despite the issues, DCF analysis is very widely used and is perhaps the primary valuation tool amongst the financial analyst community.